Don't Blame Us

Frankly, is this the tone we want the White House to strike in the hours after a calamity?

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House said Thursday that an inspection two years ago found structural deficiencies in the highway bridge that buckled during evening rush hour in Minneapolis.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said the Interstate 35W span rated 50 on a scale of 120 for structural stability.

"This doesn't mean there was a risk of failure, but if an inspection report identifies deficiencies, the state is responsible for taking corrective actions," he said. The bridge was 40 years old.

Thanks, Tony, for taking pains to point out that it's someone else's fault. Good first instinct there. Nice. Real nice.

President Bush first learned of the disaster while having dinner Wednesday night with the first lady. Snow said Bush received preliminary details about the bridge collapse from Joe Hagin, deputy chief of staff. Hagin called Fran Townsend, Bush's homeland security adviser, who reported that there were no known links to terrorists.

Bush asked Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to go to Minneapolis, where she will announce a $5 million grant to help pay for rerouting traffic patterns around the disaster.

Bush called Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 8:45 a.m. EDT Thursday to offer encouragement. "He said the governor was in the president's prayers and offered any support that we can provide," Snow said. Bush also called Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak to offer his condolences and prayers for the losses, and he acknowledged the economic cost of losing a main transportation artery.

I suppose the Governor might have had his hands full last night, but would a quick call before he went to bed have been too much for Mr. Bush? He heard about the collapse over dinner with Laura, maybe saw some video, then went to bed? Did he even say, "Y'know, I should probably call the governor tomorrow," or did Josh Bolten come up with the idea over breakfast?

First lady Laura Bush will visit Minneapolis on Friday to console victims of the collapse, which killed at least four people and sent dozens of cars plummeting into the Mississippi River on Wednesday.

I'm glad they're making the effort. Still, I know I can't really imagine, but I'm pretty sure the last thing I'd want to console me is a visit from Laura Bush.